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Welcome to The Car Spy....This is where we will be posting cars for sale, latest updates, news, opinions, discussions or just about anything interesting related to cars. If you would like to contact us then call 01892 506970 or email sales@thecarspy.net

It is easy to get carried away with numbers. Life seems to be measured in millions or billions these days and when Barclays Bank announced a recent drop in quarterly profits from £1.15 billion to £793 million the media led us to believe that bankers were were about to throw themselves off the top of the company’s HQ in Canary Wharf. Time to get a grip we think.

Numbers have got a little out of hand in the car world too now and we have seen deals closed at 1 million pounds plus at a rate never seen before in our time as ‘supercar’ brokers. That is fine and dandy of course but in reality the vast majority of petrolheads have now found themselves following the pursuits of car-spotters and dream-chasers on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram in search of car-pornography to satisfy their lust for automotive nirvana.

We thought, therefore it was time to challenge ourselves to find out which cars can provide the necessary ‘supercar’ fix for car-lovers who don’t happen to have access to the cash reserves of a Russian oligarch but also want a car they can drive without being ‘papped’ on the way to the supermarket.

The initial criteria for creating the ‘affordable’ short-list was as follows:

A purchase budget of no more than £50,000

Ideally at least 300 bhp power output (or power to weight ratio)

a zero to 60 mph time of less than around 5 seconds

Modern-ish without being called a ‘modern classic’

The car should be a crowd-puller (that was the hardest part)

A car that people will give way to at junctions with pleasure (actually that was the hardest part and unlikely to be the case with a few of these cars)

Of course £50k is still an awful lot of money for the vast majority of British citizens but we are assuming that a car-fanatic will be prepared to sell his grandmother in order to acquire the car of his dreams (sorry Nan!). That figure is also roughly a third of what you might expect to pay to become a junior member of the ‘supercar club’ if you were buying a brand new car.

So not in order of preference but in order of the alphabet here we go, including a link to one we have found for sale in order to prove the point:

Alfa Romeo 4c – the company appears to have found its mojo again with the 4c and hopefully Alfa will start producing great cars again. The 4c has the looks, the noise and the pulling power to compete with its Ferrari cousins without the need for the driver to wear his shirt open to the navel. Drives like a dream and looks cool in any colour. For sale: http://bit.ly/21fCM7e

Ariel Atom 3 300 – a left-field choice but certainly one that would get you noticed parked next to an alien spaceship from Mars. For those drivers who have a masochistic tendency and enjoy being exposed to the elements of nature. This car will try to tear the skin off your face and an Aventador would do well to keep up with an Atom in any drag race. Dare to be different! For sale: http://bit.ly/1UhRZE1

Aston Martin Vantage V8 N400 – actually for £50k we could have opted for a DB9 (Coupe or Volante) or a Vanquish. Anything with an ‘Aston Martin’ badge is super-cool anyway so our choice is academic. The V8 Vantage N400 is fast, has a manual gearbox, just enough toys, made in limited numbers and ticks all of the right boxes for us. For sale: http://bit.ly/1rAohPA

Audi R8 – really didn’t think it would be possible but in fact there is a surprising number of R8’s available on the market for less than our target buy-price. It is nearly ten years since the R8 was first launched and yet it still looks fresh today. There probably isn’t another car in our top twenty that can emulate the R8 and look like it is worth twice the price. The family-man choice, however, would be the RS6. For sale: http://bit.ly/1VVSbKd

BMW M6 – More of a Grand Tourer than a street-racer but none the worse for that. A stonking 560 bhp on tap means that progress will be rapid and a trip to Monaco can be done in the blink of an eye. The roomy cabin means you can take three mates on the trip with you too! If, on the other hand, you really do need four doors then an understated F10 M5 can be bought for similar money. For sale: http://bit.ly/1VWgCY7

Bentley Continental GT Speed – Formerly the chariot of choice for Premier League footballers the Conti GT has matured very nicely and fitted with the 600 bhp W12 engine you won’t find another car in this list with a badge that can rub shoulders with the best company out there. The shape still looks current too because thankfully Bentley has kept the cosmetic updates to a mild make-over level over the years. For Sale: http://bit.ly/1XWP0jt

Ferrari 360 Modena – Trying to buy a fairly modern Ferrari for less than £50k was always going to be tricky but we were determined to get one on our list of favourites. However we did cheat slightly because that budget will get you a left hand drive 360 and nothing else right hand drive will come close. Get one in Rosso Corsa with Crema interior and your mates will think you have just won the lottery. For sale: http://bit.ly/1YVhomc

Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby – In the 60’s Steve McQueen made us all fall in love with his Highland Green GT 390 Fastback in the film Bullitt and the name Mustang still conjures up the stirring car-chase footage from the film. The car you can buy today will definitely be quicker with anything from 600 upwards available depending on which version you buy. The American V8 soundtrack is worth every penny! For sale: http://bit.ly/1XWSdPU

Honda NSX – Massively under-rated initially but the NSX turned out to be a giant-killer with Ferrari very much in its sights. The fabulous engine, superb handling and sensible list price meant that in spite of its mass-market origins Honda had managed to produce a proper supercar of its own. Technically because of its age now it is technically a ‘modern classic’ and shouldn’t be in this list – but it is, so there. For sale: http://bit.ly/1UiXL8u

Jaguar F-Type V8 Supercharged – We could have equally gone for the Supercharged V6 but the V8 F-Type just tips the balance on the mental scale. Over-the-top explosive exhaust note will have pedestrians running for cover and a rear-wheel-drive set-up that makes for some of the easiest rubber-burning wheel-spins on the planet. Smile factor is huge and with the roof down the search for tunnels will be high on the agenda. For sale: http://bit.ly/1qXh4s1

Lamborghini Gallardo – Disappointingly we couldn’t find anything to fit below our budget in the classifieds but there are some that come close. Lambo’s are holding their values well these days and a Gallardo can still pull a few glances when it is out and about. We think that if you were determined enough to haggle with a dealer and not too fussy about the mileage of the car then there is a Gallardo out there for you. For sale: http://bit.ly/21gPmDg

Lotus Exige S 3.5 V6 – Lotus has come a long way since the Elise of the late 90’s and in spite of the turbulent history of the company over recent years there have been some interesting developments in product development and big improvements in build quality. Lotus has produced some of the best chassis designs ever since the beginning of time and the Exige will embarrass almost anything on the track. For sale: http://bit.ly/1qXkj2L

Mercedes Benz C63 AMG – Like many of the other cars in this list the 6.3 litre V8 C63 AMG makes a delicious sound. Start one up from cold and and the ferocious bark sounds like an angry demon stirring from its sleep. At first sight the C63 looks a little like a C250 with an AMG kit but that is half the attraction really because you can poodle around and blend in with the traffic knowing you have 500 bhp on hand. For sale: http://bit.ly/1XX9NDr

Morgan Aero 8 – It doesn’t get any more old-school than Morgan but the company knows how to produce a fast car when it wants to and they are a familiar sight on many race tracks around the world. The BMW V8-powered Aero 8 packs a punch in standard form for the road and is another soft-top in our selection that produces a glorious sound. Its quirky shape means you will get lots of friendly waves too. For sale: http://bit.ly/1rlgdBU

Nissan GT-R – Another Jap that has spoilt the party for many of the premium brands amongst the high-performance pack. The GT-R has been developed to within an inch of its life and the result is that it shows you don’t need to spend a six-figure sum to buy a car to scare the life out of you whilst losing your driving licence. The GT-R takes on all-comers – just check out the YouTube drag-race videos! For sale: http://bit.ly/1TyR7IY

Noble M400 – If speed is high on your list of priorities then a rare, low-volume production Noble could be right up your street. Zero to 60 mph will be in the 3 second category and if you are brave enough you could push the car to 200 mph. The car is built by the same people who build the Superperformance GT40 and they know a thing or two about fast race cars. Your individuality will be applauded with a Noble. For sale: http://bit.ly/24n03WY

Porsche Cayman 3.4S – We couldn’t have an Exige in our list without including it’s nemesis the Porsche Cayman. Everything the Lotus can do , the Cayman will try to better it. Not always successfully but in a way that appeals to the more conservative buyer who has build-quality and longevity as their main priorities. The Cayman also threatens its big brother, the 911, in terms of value for money these days. For sale: http://bit.ly/1UjM4hO

Porsche 911 (997) Turbo – Porsche has produced so many variants of the 911 that the choice at £50k is mind-blowing. However, putting aside the GT3 and RS offerings, a 911 Turbo is a wet-dream for any car enthusiast. The performance figures are academic because most people will never have the chance to test the car to its limits and too many will not want to even use it to protect its residual value which is a shame. For sale: http://bit.ly/1WtnP0L

Tesla Roadster – Yes there is an electric car in our list and because we wanted a Tesla our choice was limited to the Roadster. You simply can’t buy a Model S (our preferred choice) for anywhere near £50k, at the moment at least. The Roadster is, however, related to the Lotus Elise, has set several world records for electric-powered cars and can get to 60 mph in less than four seconds. That’s why we chose it. For sale: http://bit.ly/1NXEEKx

Ultima GTR – it is a coincidence that the ultimate car on our list should be an Ultima. However, it might also be literally the ultimate of our car choices for £50k because it is the fastest car here. Designed originally by Lee Noble (yes, the very same of Noble Cars) the Ultima GTR can blow most ‘hypercars’ into the weeds for acceleration, including the Veyron. Need we say more? For sale: http://bit.ly/1UjTiSU

So there you have it, these are our, albeit subjective, choices for an alternative supercar for around £50k or less. You might disagree and if so, feel free to tell us which cars either shouldn’t be in our top twenty or point out some we may well have over-looked.

The links to the cars for sale have all been taken from the Pistonheads classified listings and you may indeed find better buys from other sources. Some of the cars we have found may also have been sold by the time you have read this article.

Let us know if you need any help looking for your ideal supercar for £50k by giving The Car Spy a call on 01892 506970 – we will be happy to assist you.

Ferrari and Ford have both been in the news lately. A record euro amount was paid at auction for a 1957 335 Sport Scaglietti and Ford are back at Le Mans after 50 years with an ambition to win again.

The success of the Ford GT40 from the 60’s is well-documented and today remains one of motor racing’s all-time great successes. Thanks to Signore Enzo Ferrari.

So the story goes, the great man was willing to consider the sale of his company to Henry Ford II back in 1963 but because of a disagreement over how the motor racing division would be run Enzo cancelled the negotiations. HF II had spent a fortune in lawyer’s fees up to that point and was pretty miffed that EF just upped and walked away from the table.

As a result of the falling-out of the two alpha-males the racing division of Ford were tasked with building a Ferrari-beater to give Enzo a good spanking for his tantrum. A partnership with Lola ensued and the creation of Ford Advanced Vehicles Limited in England whose first-born was the fabled GT40. The rest is history as they say and now we look forward to the new Ford GT.

At about the same time Mr Ferrari was having another spat with a gentleman called Ferruccio. The chap who was making tractors had a few tips for Enzo to improve the ‘drivability’ of his cars which resulted in him receiving a bloody nose from the man from Maranello. Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to start building his own cars. Oh dear, Enzo did it again but we really should be grateful for the Miura, Countach, Gallardo, Aventador, Sesto Elemento etc etc.

On the face of it, if Enzo Ferrari had been a mild-mannered, passive, congenial individual neither the GT40 or the multiple creations from Lamborghini would have ever existed. Quite fortunate therefore that he wasn’t and not only did he create some of the world’s greatest cars himself but he also had a hand in the creation of some that did not wear a Ferrari badge.

There are too many icons from the 1970’s but some will remain in our minds forever. Glam-rock, flares, tank-tops and the Lamborghini Countach are freeze-framed for eternity.

Any self-respecting petrol-head with a spare bedroom wall to hang the Athena posters on would have given centre-stage to the one featuring the Countach. The car was white and it was car-porn. Yours truly remembers it well.

Even better than having the poster was to one day see a Countach in the flesh and one day it happened, in Carnaby Street (or very near that at least). The car was red and matched the owner’s jacket. It attracted a large crowd and the sound ‘Wow’ was repeated constantly which roughly translated is what ‘Countach’ meant if you came from the Piedmont region in Italy. A visitor from Mars may just have well landed in front of us.

Today, the car is still likely to get the same reaction. Not because of its outrageous design but more so that it comes from the past. From around 40-odd years ago in fact. That is what boggles the mind these days. Park one next to a Pagani Huayra and see which car attracts the most attention. Have another look at the sharp, angular detailing of the design and then take a close look at the Aventador. The genes are obvious and the Countach set the blue-print for most Lamborghinis that followed it.

In its day the Countach was no slouch but by today’s hypercar standards a 0-60 mph time of slightly less than 6 seconds and a top speed of 160 mph seems a bit laid-back and more comparable to modern-day hot hatch performance figures. However, if road presence is a major factor then a Countach has it by the spade-full and not only did the car look sensational it sounded mental too.

A few decades ago nobody really gave a damn about how noisy your car was. Cherry-bomb exhausts and sawn-off silencers were high priorities for a spotty-faced adolescent looking to impress his mates in the pub car park. The louder the better so it went back then.

A Countach’s V12 woke up with a war-zone explosive sound that could vibrate the inside of your rib-cage. It was feral and primeval and made your neck-hairs stand upright. It was glorious and it attacked all of the senses. This is what made the Countach a hero of its day.

Today, the Jimi Hendrix of the car world is more likely to be found posing at a classic car event or sitting in an auction room as eye-candy for investment opportunists. It is likely that most owners of the few that were made have ever driven them, at least if they have then not very far. And who would want to anyway? On the UK’s congested roads and tight parking spaces the Countach would be a pig to navigate. The letter-box view from the cockpit and virtually no rearward vision would make for a very stressful driving experience let alone the recurring nightmare of damaging your very expensive purchase.

So how much would you have to pay for one today? Up until only a few years ago it was possible to buy one for well under £100k. Today you would need to spend at least double that for a decent example. It is strange that such an important car as the Countach would have arrived so late to the ‘appreciating classics’ scene but now it seems the sky is the limit depending on which model is up for sale. An early 70’s car with solid-gold provenance could probably write its own cheque.

Not many do come on the market but on the 26th – 28th February Silverstone Auctions will be featuring a rare right hand drive 1981 LP400S which was originally purchased by a certain Tim Dutton Woolley of Dutton Cars fame. The car appears to have a decent recorded history with plenty of paperwork to support the work carried out on the car over the years including various colour changes. The current-day Pearl Yellow finish suits this Countach and is a good match for the Oatmeal leather interior. Just look at those dinky 15″ Campagnolo wheels too!

Yep, still in love with the Countach so it seems that The Car Spy is about to make another poster purchase.

12 months is not a long time. Only yesterday, it seems, we were waltzing through the airport terminal in Geneva and turning left into the Palexpo to ogle the latest automotive eye-candy. And now it is 2015.

Last year was okay and kind of worth the trip but this year we were gagging to get there. Over 70 new models on display plus the inevitable bunch of interesting concept cars that never see the light of day. So on with the show.

With so much to see we’ll just focus on the cars that were of particular interest to us which means you can exclude most of the mass market offerings.

Cutting to the chase our show hero was the Koenigsegg Regera – ‘robotic’ body panels, 1500 hp, 0-60 mph in minus 2 seconds, brain-mashing top speed, everything about the car is mental. The car is from Sweden and is the antithesis of ABBA. It is Black Sabbath on acid. Everybody now go back to the drawing board.

Next up is the Ford GT. Only 250 cars will be made and the launch date is some time in 2016. For a car that looks this good and performance will be up there with the best it is hard to believe that it will cost around £200k. Speculators and investors form an orderly queue now.

Aston Martin. They really are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The brand is bullet-proof, up there with Apple in terms of global recognition and Bond’s perennial favourite weapon of choice. The cars are drop-dead gorgeous and yet they struggle to persuade die-hard Porsche buyers to consider AM as a viable alternative. The GT3 (Aston Martin) is all sold-out – yep 100 cars gone in the blink of an eye without a single car being built so there are some real fans out there. The Vulcan, to be honest, does not look like an Aston Martin. It looks like it came from the planet Vulcan and driven by Mr Spock (RIP). Designed for those who have enough money to have a spare car for track days (at Paul Ricard not Donington) the detail of the car is truly impressive. The rear light assemblies are a work of art and deserve a place in the Louvre. Bravo Aston Martin for surprising all of us!

Yes the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 is a concept but the car is real and very likely to be gunning for 911 customers in the very near future. The car on display was rotating gracefully while the crowds gawped and wiped the dribble from their mouths. The EXP is a truly lovely design and there is a little bit of Aston Martin in the profile. The interior is lovely too and you know they will sell zillions of them if they actually start making the car which we think they (VW) will. It is a no-brainer so all they have to do is come up with a sensible name for the car.

If we all accept that the internal combustion engine will one day no longer exist but at the same time pray that we will not be driven around by a car made by Google there is a ray of hope in the form of fuel cell technology from nanoFlowcell AG. The Quantino F is a concept right now and maybe a little too avant-garde for mass market tastes but it bodes well for the future of green motoring. With a range of 1000 kms and a top speed of 200 kph we can all put away the razor blades – cars can survive without petrol.

Other highlights for us were the Alfa Romeo 4c Spider (prettier than the Coupe), Ferrari 488 (even more desirable than a 458), McLaren 675LT (they seem to going from strength to strength), Lamborghini Aventador SV (how can you make an Aventador even more terrifying?), Sergio by Pininfarina (not a game-changer but such a perfect design and future classic), Audi R8 (looks the same but then again doesn’t – if that makes any sense), Lotus (shouldn’t they be dead by now? The Evora and Exige still look damn good), Porsche 911 GT3 RS in orange (they couldn’t have picked a better colour), Porsche Cayman GT4 in yellow (they couldn’t have picked a better colour) and Renault Sport RS 01 (the bastard child of the Caterham/Renault love affair? At the right price this car will sell well).

There are even more exhibits that are probably worth a mention and we did manage to take a few shots of nice cars during our visit to the show so please take a look at our slideshow when you have time.

For now then we have stocked up on Toblerone, Swiss cheese and cuckoo clocks albeit with less Swiss Francs left than last year but roll on 2016 – not sure if it will be as interesting as this year though!

Before the arrival of the Aventador in 2011, the Murcielago was the king of the bedroom wall-posters for Lamborghini and it is easy to forget how the searing performance of the Murcielago set the benchmark for every ‘hypercar’ to follow it.

Powered by a 572 hp V12 Lamborghini engine the car blasted to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and on to a top speed of up to 200 mph – and that was back in 2001!

During the years to follow the company continued to improve the V12’s performance by slightly increasing the engine capacity to 6.5 litres which allowed for a power output of over 600 hp.

However in 2009 the ‘SuperVeloce’ was the cherry on the cake. With power increased to 670 hp and various weight-saving modifications applied to the construction of the car the 0-60 mph time was down to 2.8 seconds and top speed was lifted to 210 mph. Even by today’s standards that is seriously quick and there are still few road-going hypercars that come close to those figures.

Today the SV is regarded as a highly desirable collectable Lamborghini and inevitably values are on the rise especially for right hand drive versions. Only eight cars were originally supplied to the UK and the number remaining are possibly half of that.

If you happen to be looking for an SV we know of a 2009 right hand drive Bianco Isis example (as seen in the image above) which is currently on sale.

This example is in excellent condition, has covered less than 7000 miles and comes complete with a Lamborghini service history.

Has Lamborghini ever made an ugly-looking car? The definition of ‘ugly’ is a very subjective one, of course, and some people might describe the London Shard as an ‘ugly’ piece of architecture whereas you the reader might think it to be quite beautiful.

However, trawling back through images of Lamborghinis from the past it was truly difficult to find a model in their range to be indifferent about. From the Diablo, Miura, Countach to the Sesto Elemento they all set the heart a-fluttering. That was until the LM002 blotted the landscape.

Born in 1986 and executed in 1993, the LM002 was essentially a mental SUV designed for people who had more money than sense and access to huge resources of gasoline – the car was fitted with a 7.2 litre V12 marine engine for pity’s sake! The LM002 made a Hummer look limp-wristed and was even dubbed the ‘Rambo Lambo’.

So apart from the LM002 Lamborghini has yet to come up with a car that doesn’t fulfil the necessary criteria for giving petrol-heads wet dreams.

The Gallardo was always going to be a tricky car to replace because everybody liked it. Some preferred it over the equivalent model from arch-rival Ferrari and best of all it possessed Audi build-quality to help keep the gremlins away.

The Gallardo stayed in production for 10 years with only the odd very minor tweak to its design occurring along the way since it was a formula that could not be tampered with while generating decent sales for the company.

However, the car was starting to look a little dated next to the new 458 and latest models from McLaren so some lucky (or unlucky) designer in the company had the task of coming up with a better-looking car. A few sleepless nights were on the cards.

Enter the Huracán this year (for deliveries at least) and rather than come out with a complete re-hash of the pretty Gallardo a more sensitive approach has been taken by adding a few design cues from the magnificent Aventador which is no bad thing whilst keeping in touch with the out-going car’s pleasing aesthetics.

Underneath, various subtle engineering changes have taken to place to make sure the car stays competitive at every level and also to continue to satisfy the ever-stringent EU automotive rules and regulations.

Deliveries of the Huracán have already started in the UK and those customers who placed an early deposit are amongst the first to get their hands on one today.

If you are looking to place a factory order for one at the moment you will be looking at your car arriving around the middle of next year, if you are lucky, since demand has been very healthy for the new model.

On the other hand we have access to a brand new Huracán that will be arriving within the next week or so and comes with the following specification:-

Finished in Bianco Canopus/Arancio Argos with Nero Alcantara Interior this new, unregistered, right hand drive Gallardo Edizione Tecnica comes with the following options in addition to the standard specification:-